I got my first DSLR for £150.
It was a Sony Alpha 100 with a 18-70mm kit lens. Which served me very well.
I've since replaced it with a Sony Alpha 350, again secondhand which was £200 for the body, but that wasn't a problem because I already had lenses.
I really rate the Sony Alphas. There's not a great deal of difference between an Alpha 100 and 200. But once you get to the newer 290, 300, 350 you see the better spec.
The image stabilisation in the body is pretty good, and it means you can pick up older secondhand lenses cheap (I got a Tamron 28-200mm zoom for £29)
Here's one I took with my Alpha 350 the other day:
Love bugs by
AlistairBeavis, on Flickr
And here's one I took with my Alpha 100 last year.
Bee-hind you by
AlistairBeavis, on Flickr
Just fyi, all except the most expensive Nikon DSLRs use Sony image sensors.
If you only have money for a second hand DSLR, don't worry.
Starting with a Canon 350D isn't a bad place, start with a 17-55mm kit lens, then later add a 50mm f1.8 prime (fixed/non-zoom) lens (probably around £80 new). This will teach you so much just using the 50mm.
You can then upgrade the body to a 450D or 500D in a year or two.
Remember that once you pick one camera make, you'll be best off sticking to it. You can't swap a Nikon fit lens onto a Canon camera or vice versa. So if you get a Canon 350D, you'll have the stick with them once you've started buying lenses and accessories.
